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In 1994, several groups were involved in an attempt to relocate the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to New Orleans, Louisiana. The proposed relocation would have been the second involving a Minneapolis-based franchise in the span of two years, as Minneapolis had lost its National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to Dallas, Texas in 1993. Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner were considering selling the team due to problems with the mortgage on the Target Center, the team's arena that had been built only four years earlier as part of Minneapolis' 1989 entry into the NBA. The events of the attempted relocation resulted in Glen Taylor, businessman and former Minnesota State Senator, purchasing the team and keeping it in Minneapolis. After their failed courting of the Timberwolves, New Orleans made attempts to lure the Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets to the city in the 2000s and found success when the Hornets, who had considered both New Orleans and Memphis (where the Grizzlies eventually moved), elected to move to Louisiana in 2002. The Hornets would since then revive their franchise name back in Charlotte in 2014, while the original Charlotte Hornets would be renamed the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013. ==Relocation speculation== By the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, speculation as to whether or not the Timberwolves would remain in Minneapolis following the 1994–95 season became an issue. On February 11, 1994, NBA commissioner David Stern announced that he and his representatives would serve as mediators in an effort to resolve issues related to the debt owed on the Target Center, the Timberwolves home arena. The Timberwolves ownership was seeking a public or private entity to purchase the $73 million remaining on the arena's mortgage, otherwise the team would be sold and in all likelihood moved from Minnesota.〔 Although mediation talks were just beginning to keep the team in place, by the following week it was revealed that ownership had met with representatives from San Diego, Nashville and New Orleans to discuss the potential relocation of the franchise. By late February, New Orleans emerged as the likely city for the team to relocate to if a deal could not be reached to keep the team in Minneapolis. This became the case after the potential ownership group Top Rank signed a letter of intent to purchase the team and move it to New Orleans if debt issues at the Target Center were not resolved. Although a potential local ownership group was identified in late February, local opposition to a perceived bailout of multi-millionaire ownership began to take hold. A citizens opposition group called ''Don't Target Us'' (referencing the Target Center in their name) formed to voice their opposition to a public purchase of the facility. Additionally, polling at the time showed support for public intervention as being unfavorable with 60 percent of those polled being against intervention.〔 However support for intervention on the arena issue began to take shape as well with several at the local and state level stating their intention to make a deal happen. Additionally, businesses near the arena starting a campaign to keep the team in Minneapolis. While political maneuvering was continuing in Minnesota, by early April it was reported that Nashville had become the favored place for relocation over New Orleans. The Nashville offer became the preferred option as it included $80 million for the franchise from Gaylord Entertainment and an additional $20 million to be paid to the city of Minneapolis to pay down debt at the Target Center. New Orleans later reemerged as the lead candidate for relocation by the end of April when Top Rank announced a purchase price of $152.5 million. By early May, the Minnesota state legislature approved a bill that would use public funds to purchase the Target Center for $48 million. The purchase by the state was contingent on ownership agreeing to keep the franchise in the arena for 30 years.〔 However, ownership could not find a local suitor willing to pay what Top Rank had offered for the franchise setting the stage for relocation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Minnesota Timberwolves failed relocation to New Orleans」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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